Pittsburgh sports fans can connect with NBA
The 2017-18 NBA season tipped off on Tuesday with a pair of highly anticipated match-ups. The Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers faced off with last year’s No. 1 seed out of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics. A few time zones over, the reigning champs from Golden State hosted one of maybe a handful of teams that may be able to challenge them for the top spot in the west: the Houston Rockets.
So, why should you, a proud resident of a pro basketball wasteland known as Western Pennsylvania, care at all that the league tipped off its 72nd season a few days ago? As I see it, there is something for every Pittsburgh area sports fan to enjoy on the hardwood.
If you are willing to hear me out, I’ve broken this concept down into three types of individuals: Penguin fans, Pirate fans and Steeler fans. If you are an ardent supporter of two or more of these squads, all the better.
More so than any other Steel City franchise, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team that the rest of the league is trying to catch up to in terms of success and talent level. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions are looking to become the first team to hoist the chalice for a third-straight time since the mighty New York Islanders did it every season from 1980-1984.
Golden State nearly accomplished that feat over the past three seasons. However, the high-powered offensive machine from the Bay suffered one of the league’s greatest meltdowns in 2016, when it blew a 3-1 championship series lead and surrendered the trophy to Cleveland.
While the Warriors are “only” going for three titles in the last four years, they are just as talented, if not more so, from top to bottom, than the Pens. Former league MVP’s Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are the NBA’s answer to the dynamic duo of Crosby and Malkin, while other all-stars like Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson play the Kessel, Murray and Letang roles to a “T.”
If you love dominance and rooting for the league super power, checkout the Warriors.
After watching 20-plus years of losing, many Pittsburgh Pirate fans had jumped ship with the team and sold or donated their No. 18 Andy Van Slyke jerseys years ago. Then came the magical 2013 season, when the Buccos went 94-68 and made their long-awaited return to the postseason.
On the other side of the Keystone State, the long-suffering Philadelphia 76ers are hoping the 2017-18 season will be their 2013 campaign. The Sixers have missed the NBA postseason each of the past five years. While that certainly is nowhere near Pirate territory in terms of futility, remember that 16 of the Association’s 30 teams make the playoffs, making a lack of a postseason all the more painful.
Just like the Buccos, Philadelphia has been using its near-rock bottom status to stockpile high quality talent through the draft. After waiting for several of those players, most notably former LSU wunderkind Ben Simmons, to fully recover from injuries and gain a little seasoning, the Sixers are hoping that this winter will be the starting point of their ascension to respectability.
There also is the obvious local connection of former Chartiers Valley and Duquesne star T.J. McConnell being the starting point guard out in Philadelphia. Fun fact, T.J.’s father Tim was a star at Waynesburg University in the 1980s.
While most Steeler fans hate having any connection made between their favorite team and a squad from New England, I can see a touch of the Black and Gold in the NBA’s historic franchise of Green and White: the Boston Celtics.
Both icons of their respective sports boast the most titles on the gridiron and the hardwood, respectively, and have those same expectations placed upon them, fair or not, every season. This year is no different.
Way back before the current NFL season kicked off, the Steelers were considered one of few teams that could knock the New England Patriots off the Super Bowl perch. Thanks to some big offseason additions, the Celtics are looking to do the same to the likes of the Warriors and Cavaliers.
Again, if you want a really local aspect to this comparison, Darrin Walls, the all-time leading scorer at Waynesburg University, suited up for the Boston Celtics in the 1980s. Walls was also a member of the Houston Rockets.
Do I expect what I have said to turn Greene County into a new NBA hot bed? No. However, much like when you finally gave in to your parents’ urgings to try that new food, you just may be surprised how much you enjoy something different.
Or, you end up throwing it up in the tub anyways. Sorry about that Mom.